Vacant stores renovated into hotel rooms in Okinawa City

Fanfare Japan, a tourism business company publishing brochures and promotional videos, is expanding into lodging industry by renovating vacant stores on Chuo Park Avenue in Okinawa City into hotel rooms.

The company has operated a facility on the avenue for a few months, and the occupancy rate of the hotel named “Trip Shot Hotels Koza” is hovering at about 70%. The company plan to increase number of its rooms from 3 to 20 within five years.

Reportedly, many foreign tourists use the unique hotel, and they have many inquiries and reservations. Takeshi Shimabukuro, its president of Fanfare Japan, says, “We would like to tell people about attractions of Koza by letting them feel the unique atmosphere of our town.”

Fanfare Japan entered the lodging business in 2016, because “When the time of Okinawa having 10 million tourists comes, lodging industry must be thriving.”

They aim to introduce the atmosphere of Koza town to visitors by leaving the stores’ original interior intact. Their current three available hotel rooms used to be a hair salon, bar, and cabaret, and when they renovated the shops they tried to preserve their original atmosphere intact.

“Player’s Café” on Chuo Park Avenue doubles as the “hotel lobby”, where customers sign in and get the room key. The cost of stay starts from ¥12,000 per person. The rooms can accommodate up to four persons each.